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Harold/Behind the Scenes
Background Information The Railway Series Harold is a fictional helicopter who patrols the Island of Sodor, searching for emergencies created by the Rev. W. Awdry. He first appeared in The Railway Series book, Percy the Small Engine, which was published in 1956. His last appearance was in Thomas Comes Home, published in 1992. File:HaroldillustratedbyCReginaldDalby.png|1955 Harold as illustrated by C. Reginald Dalby (1956) File:MainHaroldRWS.png|1986 Harold as illustrated by Clive Spong (1986) Harold is based on a Sikorsky S-55 helicopter. Television Series In 1986, Harold was introduced in the second series, of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, and has appeared as the most significant aircraft character in the series since. Behind the Scenes Regular model Harold’s regular model was custom built by model makers, Paul Knight and Jeremy King. The model was first constructed from a wooden pattern and vacuformed 1.5mm styrene plasticard was put over it to make a bodyshell. The rotors and windows were made from perspex. When it came time for him to fly, he was on strings attached to a pole which the crew moved around and his rotor blades, when spinning, were achieved by a transparent disk. In the third series Harold's rotor blades were powered by a motor while flying. File:PercyandHarold7.png File:PercyandHarold7.jpg File:HaroldModel.jpg File:HaroldBehindTheScenes1.jpg File:HaroldSeason5Promo.png File:Harold'sModelSpecification.PNG File:Harold'sSeason9modelfront.png Harold's regular model has gone through several changes throughout the Television Series: * Series 2: ** His spinning rotors were achieved using a transparent disk. ** In "Percy and Harold", "The Runaway" and "Thomas and the Missing Christmas Tree", he is shown with a lamp. * Series 3: ** His model's blades now spin when shown flying. ** His middle and rear side windows are removed. ** His blades become flimsy and slightly bent. ** The lamp reappears only in Thomas, Percy and the Post Train. * Series 4: ** His blades become straight again. * Series 5: ** His blades go back to being flimsy and bent. * Thomas and the Magic Railroad: ** His blades are straight once again. * Series 8: ** The lamp becomes permanent. * Series 10: ** His eyes now move with a motor. Harold's model is now on display at the Hara Model Railway Museum. It had previously been on display at Nitrogen Studios. File:Harold_Hanging_from_the_Sky.png|Harold's model at Nitrogen Studios File:HaroldHaraModelRailwayMuseum.jpg|Harold at the Hara Museum. Close-up model A close-up model of Harold was required for scenes where he had to interact with close-up scale figures. The cab was made in pieces so it was able to be dismantled and resembled for use of interior shots if required. File:Oliver'sFind64.png File:MakeSomeoneHappy40.png File:ABadDayForHaroldTheHelicopter47.png File:CallingAllEngines!234.png CGI model The twelfth series marked the beginning of the show's transition into CGI as a replacement for the show's long-standing live-action models. Harold was recreated from scratch in CGI by Nitrogen Studios in 2008, a year before the show switched over to full CGI. His model was "hand-sculpted" in Maya, a 3D animation and modelling software. Photographs of Harold's Gauge 1 model were used for referencing. According to Greg Tiernan, every detail of the original television series models for each character is carefully reproduced in the CGI model. The models are subjected to many rounds of review before they are submitted to HiT Entertainment for final input and approval. Harold has had modifications throughout the CGI series. These include: * Series 12: ** His red lining becomes a darker shade of red. * Misty Island Rescue: ** His main body becomes smaller. ** His face becomes smaller and lowered slightly. ** His lining changed back to the red shade it normally was. File:HenryGetsItWrong59.png File:MistyIslandRescue15.png File:TheThomasWay15.png|Rotor blades and Cab Voice Actors * Kevin Frank *Keith Wickham *Kerry Shale *Gerald Schaale *Kai-Hendrik Möller *Burkhard Schmeer *Thorsten Weber *Philipp Schmidt *Yūki Satō *Wataru Hatano *Nozomu Sasaki *Christoffer Staib *Waldemar Barwiński *Alexander Heeren *Edson Matus *Jorge Santos *Daniel del Roble *Aryeh Cherner *Nir Ron *Juan Navarro Torelló *Tony Marot *Denis Bespaliy *Petri Hanttu *Haris Grigoropoulos Category:Behind the Scenes Category:Images from behind the scenes Category:Images of Harold